GAA18CA299

Factual narrative

According to the student pilot, he was performing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings following his first cross-country solo flight. He reported that during his last landing, the airplane touched down "all the way to the right side of the runway" so he aborted the landing. He shut off the carburetor heat and applied power, and the airplane's nose pitched up and turned to the left. The airplane impacted the grass safety area on the left side of the runway in a nose down attitude. The airplane came to rest inverted and sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut and aileron. According to the operator, the pilot reported that during the aborted landing, he increased the power and the airplane veered to the left. The airplane exited the left side of the runway and the main landing gear struck a drainage culvert, and the airplane came to rest inverted. The student pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. According to the student pilot, he was performing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings following his first cross-country solo flight. He reported that, during his last landing, the airplane touched down "all the way to the right side of the runway," so he aborted the landing. He shut off the carburetor heat and applied power, and the airplane's nose pitched up and turned left. The airplane impacted the grass safety area on the left side of the runway in a nose-down attitude. The airplane came to rest inverted after striking a drainage culvert and sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut and aileron. The student reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-(general)-Contributed to outcome